Crash into Love
by Shayla Riverus
Summary: Rory gets into a car accident... Trory
1. car crash

Author's Note: I own nothing- please don't sue me. Also, this is my first attempt at writing fanfic- so please give me feedback. 

            Rory looked outside the window of her classroom. Not only was she exhausted after staying up until 3am to study for her history test, but when she had awoken the coffee maker broke, leaving her cranky and decaffeinated. Then she ended up being late to school because her car wouldn't start. Not a good start to a long day.

            "Ms. Gilmore- if you want to daydream, do so at another school," Mr. Williams, her math teacher glared at her.

            Rory mumbled an apology and looked down at her notebook, where her eyes promptly started to close. Why couldn't she stay awake? _Damn you Mr. Coffee Maker… and those were her last thoughts before Rory's head dropped to her desk._

            From across the room, Tristan watched her. After a year in military school, his family allowed him to come home on the condition that his behavior stayed appropriately _Dugrey_. His eyes filled with concern as he saw Rory's head fall against her desk. She wasn't one to usually fall asleep in class, particularly not Mr. Williams' calculus class. Williams had the reputation of being the meanest teacher at Chilton, hands down, over any other teacher who had ever graced the halls. He was definitely not a teacher that even the "trouble makers" at Chilton would ever want to cross.

            Tristan sat up straighter as he noticed Williams making his way down the isle of desks towards Rory. This would not be good.

            Rory jolted up from sleep as a hand slammed down on her desk, just by her head. 

            "MS.GILMORE GET OUT OF MY CLASS," Mr. Williams bellowed.

            "oh my god, Mr. Williams I am so sorr-"

            "OUT!" Mr. Williams pointed to the door, "DO NOT COME BACK HERE UNTIL YOU CAN STAY AWAKE!"

            Rory turned pale and lowered her head. After quickly gathering up her books, she mumbled another apology and made her way towards the door. Tristan grabbed her hand as she passed his desk, turning Rory looked at him.

            _It's__ ok, Tristan mouthed. __Don't worry about it._

            Rory's eyes filled with tears and she ran out. Tristan slumped down in his chair, wondering what she was going to do.

            Once outside of the classroom, Rory burst into tears. She had never, ever been kicked out of class before! What was she going to do? She made her way toward the parking lot and decided to just go home. All she needed was some coffee and a book, and surely she'd feel better.

            As Rory drove out of the parking lot, she frowned as she heard a strange sound coming from the hood of her car. She'd have to get that looked at when she got back to Stars Hollow. 

            Sighing again, Rory sped the car up, eager to get home and under a blanket. Just as she was going through the woods on a street that would get her to Stars Hollow, she heard a strange popping sound coming from her motor. Suddenly, her steering wheel locked and Rory lost control of the car! Swearing, Rory braced herself as the car spun around, knocking the driver's side into a tree. Rory blacked out on impact.

            The bell rang just as Tristan exited his calc class. He looked around for where Rory was, wondering if she was ok. He hated it when she cried. Over the past couple of months, he and Rory had developed a close friendship. Her house became his haven, the place to escape to whenever his empty mansion became to menacing to handle. She was his everything, and it had taken every ounce of self control not to run out after her.

            Upon seeing that Rory was nowhere in Chilton, he looked to the parking lot, noticing that the space next to his car was empty. Her jeep was gone, so Tristan assumed that Rory had gone home. He pulled out his cell phone, intent on checking up with her, but when he only got the Gilmore's answering machine, Tristan got a little worried. How long did it take him to drive to the Gilmore's house? 25 or 30minutes? Definitely not an hour, which was how long ago it had been since Mr. Williams kicked Rory out of class.

            Frowning, Tristan got into his Porsche and drove towards Stars Hollow. He called Rory's cell phone, but all it would do is ring and ring…

            Turning a sharp corner, Tristan knew that he was almost there. And then he saw the jeep.

But the jeep wasn't just… there. It was in pieces. The front was wrapped around one tree and another had fallen atop the roof. And then the driver's side was….. _oh__ god Rory._

"RORY!" Tristan screamed as he ran out of his car. "OH GOD RORY. ARE YOU OK?!"

Tristan ran to the drivers side, but couldn't get see through the window because of where this massive maple tree was. He could see Rory's body… _her body_… limp. And he could smell the blood.

Tristan snapped out his cell phone and dialed 911. "Please help me," he yelled, "Rory's in a car accident and I think she's unconscious" He quickly gave the person a rough estimate of where he was and hung up.

He ran around to the other side of the car and pulled off what was left of the door and climbed through until he was next to Rory. Tears spilled down Tristan's face as he saw the blood gushing out of an open wound in Rory's stomach. He felt sick as the stench of blood hit him again, but simply held onto Rory.

"Rory, Rory, you'll be all right. I'm here Rory." Tristan sobbed. Why wouldn't she wake up? Why wouldn't the blood flow slow down?

And where was the ambulance? 

"Tris…" came a whisper. Rory slowly opened her eyes, but she couldn't focus them. 

"Love… you Tris."

"Oh god Rory! I love you too baby." Tristan kissed her forhead. "Stay awake baby, please just stay awake"

"Tell mom…love her too…" Rory gasped out.

"Ror, you can tell her yourself" Tristan cried, "You can tell her because you're gonna be ok, ok baby?"

"Bye Tris…"

"RORY!" Tristan sobbed, "Please don't leave me here! Please Rory! Baby wake up! I love you Rory, you know that? I love you and you're not allowed to leave me until you love me back! And you do love me back but you still can't leave me because I need to you too much."

Tristan kissed her forehead again. "Just don't leave me baby"

Nothing. Rory had slipped back into unconsciousness.

Suddenly Tristan felt a hand on his shoulder. It was an EMT- Tristan hadn't even heard the sirens. 

"Son it'll be ok," one man told him. Then he called out, "Let's get her out of here!"

Tristan climbed out of the remains of the Jeep, and watched as they got Rory out of the same jeep that was trapping her. As they loaded her into the ambulance, Tristan told himself over and over again that Rory would be ok.

"Son, are you coming?!" The EMT called to him.

Tristan looked at him, glanced at his Porsche, and then ran into the back of the ambulance. _Screw the car, stay with Rory. _Tristan sat back and watched as the men worked. One of Rory's hands fell down off the gurney- Tristan slowly brought his hand up and clasped hers between his hands. It was so cold. But somehow- maybe it was the ambulance moving, or maybe it really was Rory, Tristan felt her hand clasp his back. 

He knew she'd be ok. And when she was better, Tristan was never going to let her go. 


	2. Waiting

****A/N: thanks for the feedback. Sorry this is taking so long. I've never done this before! Any ideas would be great. Also, know that in this story Lorelai and Luke are together, so are Jess and Paris, but the younger two have yet to appear in the story.***  
  
The hallway of the hospital was too quiet. Too empty. Tristan sat on a chair across from Rory's room, waiting for her to get out of surgery. He had filled out the papers, called Lorelai, and now he was just waiting. Waiting for news on Rory's condition, waiting for Rory's family to arrive. The wait was driving him crazy. Sighing, Tristan slumped back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. The cup of coffee from the nurses station had gone cold- Tristan was shaking enough already, he didn't think his body could handle any caffeine. He was just about to get up and pester the nurses when he saw Lorelai come flying down the hallway, a worried Luke following close behind. "Tristan!" Lorelai called, "Tristan where's my baby?! Where is Rory!" "She's still in surgery, Lorelai." Luke put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder, steadying her. "Do you know anything?" he asked. Tristan sighed, "not yet." Lorelai looked outraged, "how could they not tell you anything? I hate this stupid hospital." She started pacing up and down the corridor, "We can't just sit here. I'm going to find out what I can." With that, Lorelai went down the hallway trying to find a doctor.  
  
Tristan sat back down again, next to a very tired looking Luke. "Tristan, I'm sure she'll be fine," Luke said. "You have-" Tristan's voice broke, "You have no idea how afraid I was. I found her Luke, bloody and broken. I didn't know what to do. I thought she was going to die-I don't know what I'd do if she died." "You love her." It wasn't a question. "Yeah," Tristan whispered. "Does she know?" "I. I told her, when I found her. She was conscious for a minute." Tristan felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lorelai standing next to him. "Did Rory say anything back?" she whispered. "She said. she said she loved me, and that she loved you too, Lorelai." Tears filled Lorelai's eyes. "I'm glad she told you, I've been waiting for her to say something." With that she moved over and sat next to Luke. He draped his arm around her shoulder and stared ahead of him. "Anything yet?" Luke asked. Lorelai glanced at him, then at Tristan who was currently holding his head in his hands. "Rory should be out from surgery soon."  
  
With that they just sat there, the three of them, staring at the empty hospital room in front of them. Waiting for Rory. 


	3. Whispering

****hope this is good. I have to apologize for the messed up format of the page. I'm not sure how to get it the right way, so bear with me here.*****  
  
It was 2 AM and Tristan couldn't stand it. It had been several hours since the nurses had brought Rory out from surgery and into her private room, courtesy of Janlan DuGrey- grandfather and cofounder of Hartford General Hospital.  
  
With confirmation that Rory would recover, slowly but surely, Luke had practically dragged an exhausted Lorelai home to Stars Hollow. Lorelai had left, with promises to arrive the next morning, and had made Tristan leave as well. "Tristan has to have rest if I have to have rest," she had said. "He's got to tell my Rory that he's in love with her, again, tomorrow when she wakes up."  
  
And so there was Tristan, in his empty mansion, twenty minutes away from where he wanted to be: in her hospital room with Rory.  
  
Frustrated, Tristan dragged his hands through his hair. Fuck this. He got out of bed, took a fast shower, got in his car and sped off to the hospital.  
  
Tristan parked his car in the lot, and jogged into the entrance of the hospital. As he was walking down the hospital wing, he heard a nurse call out, "Excuse me young man!"  
  
Sighing, Tristan turned around and looked into the nurse's eyes, "Yes?"  
  
"You cannot be hear right now. Visiting hours are over," The nurse said snidely.  
  
"Look," Tristan said irritably, "I can be wherever I damn well please. I'm going to go and stay with my girlfriend so leave me alone!"  
  
The nurse raised her eyebrows, "No sir, you are not."  
  
"Yes, I am." With that Tristan pulled out his cell phone and called his Grandfather. After debriefing him, Tristan handed the phone to the nurse.  
  
The nurse gingerly plucked the phone from Tristan's hands, and listened through the receiver. "Yes sir?" she stammered. "I'm Sheila Joster, sir. Y-yes sir. Sorry sir." Sheila handed the phone back to Tristan, turned around and went back to the nurses' station.  
  
Satisfied, Tristan walked down the hallway to where Rory was sleeping.  
  
He quietly entered Rory's room. He couldn't look away. Rory was. beautiful. Even while she slept, deathly pale, with IV's and heart monitors and all, Rory was so beautiful, so fragile.  
  
Tristan swallowed nervously, unsteady for the first time since he had re-entered Hartford General. He walked towards the side of her bed and sat down in a worn down chair. How many other people had sat here before, waiting for their loved ones to awake? How many people had sat here in the middle of the night, with only their worst nightmares and the perpetual beeping of the heart monitor as company? How many other people had sat here, in this very chair, and had known that if the person lying in the hospital bed didn't wake up, then their own life would be over because they were so in love with each other, that one would not exist without their other half?  
  
Tristan gingerly picked up one of Rory's limp hands, the one that was free of needles and bandages. He wove his fingers between hers, stroking the back of her hand with his free one.  
  
He had called Rory his girlfriend. To the nurse he had passionately said I'm going to go and stay with my girlfriend.without even realizing that the words were rolling off his tongue. It had been so natural, so real.  
  
Tristan didn't know if he could go back to the way their friendship was before. He had, briefly but surely, thought of his life without Rory. He didn't think he could manage. Just entertaining the idea sent pains through his heart.  
  
He glanced at the clock above him, which now read an offending 3:24. How much longer would he have to suffer through this? This never-ending numbness. Tristan gazed at Rory, please wake up. He started whispering to her: "Rory? Love? Please wake up." He bit his lip and continued, "Do you remember the first time we met?" He laughed a little, "I was such a jerk Ror, such a jerk, and you hated me for it. And then. I left for military school and I missed you so much that I had to come home and befriend you. I'd do anything for you. And so I came back, and became the man you wanted me to be, the man I wanted to be. That was for you baby- because you mean so much to me that I'd do anything for you. And I fell in love with you again, harder and deeper and more in love than I ever thought I could be. And I waited and watched and stayed in love with you as you and I formed this great, fabulous friendship. That friendship meant so much to me Ror, you have no idea. Even though I was in love with you- the fact that I could love you, even if only as a friend, meant so much to me I don't know if I can even express it."  
  
Tristan sighed and looked up into Rory's closed eyes. Her lashes were so dark and long, and briefly Tristan could imagine them brushing up against his cheek. He shut his eyes and continued whispering to her. "And you became my family- you and Lorelai and Luke. Even Jess and Paris became my family. When I went to bed at night, in the awful house of my father, I imagined that you were right there next to me, because that brought so much comfort to me that I could sleep at night. And I looked forward to waking up and driving to get you in the morning, because that meant I got to spend time at Luke's diner with this family that I had privately claimed as my own, and I got to spend time with you- the girl I was in love with, the girl who I had grown to love more and more, the girl who was everything I could ever want." Tristan leaned his head down, and rested his forehead on Rory's arm, needing to be closer to her. His eyes still shut; he finally said in a stronger voice the words he had wanted to say for years. "I love you Rory. I am in love with you. I'll never leave you, I'll never let you go. You'll be my queen, my love, for my life. You'll never be happier, more loved, or more cherished with anyone else but me. I love you Rory, so please come back to me."  
  
Tristan felt a hand lightly run through his hair. His eyes opened quickly, and he slowly raised his head up and looked to Rory's face. Her eyes were open, lashes quickly fluttering open and shut, trying to maintain eye contact with him. Rory was still out of it, groggy and with a pounding headache. But somewhere between sleep and awake, a voice had penetrated her haze with whispering words of friendship. And the words had coaxed her consciousness, and she had felt herself coming closer towards the warm words. With a new, delicate weight on her arm, her eyes had fluttered open and vaguely focused on the crown of golden hair by her side. Her heart began to pound faster as she heard, and more importantly understood, the stunning, wonderful, and terrifying proclamation of love. She looked into his shocking blue eyes, "Tris."  
  
****oh god I'm evil, aren't I? More to come. and I promise there will be intense levels of Trory-ness. Feedback is welcome, of course. In fact, that is what has driven me to continue this story- I had no idea that getting feedback would be this inspirational so I have to thank everyone for it.**** 


	4. 4 Sleeping and Realizations

Rory looked at Tristan, and he stared back into her eyes, willing her to say something more. She swallowed once, twice, breathing in and out, trying to get her voice to work. Slowly she turned towards him, and pushed the hospital covers to her side, offering Tristan the right side of the bed.  
  
Wordlessly, Tristan removed his shoes, never breaking eye contact, and climbed into the hospital bed. He wrapped his arms around Rory, and she moved to close the space between them. Gently, she moved her hand up and stroked his cheek, staring into his blue eyes. Rory slowly moved forward, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.  
  
"I love you," she whispered. Then she settled in his arms and slipped off to sleep.  
  
For a long while, Tristan lay there, stroking Rory's hair, cradling her in his arms. Then, soothed by her rhythmic breathing, he shut his eyes and slept.  
  
Rory sighed and shifted, burrowing herself deeper in the warmth that enveloped her, desperately trying to stay asleep but feeling herself awaken. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was burrowing into a person. Into Tristan. Into a very awake Tristan.  
  
"Hey," he said to her.  
  
"Hey," Rory replied, blushing.  
  
Tristan leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Rory, I'm going to go find a doctor," he told her.  
  
"Ok," she replied, lying back down on her back, taking the place Tristan had been laying down in. Once he had left the room, Rory breathed in deeply, taking in the scent and warmth that was so uniquely Tristan. She smiled, content, and so in love.  
  
In love. She was in love with Tristan. Rory smiled again.  
  
.It certainly took long enough for her to figure it out.  
  
And from outside her hospital room, Lorelei watched her daughter realize what she had already known for a long time.  
***A/N: I'm SO sorry this is taking forever. I have terrible writer's block. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks for all the support I've had so far.*** 


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